Wow. It reads like Michael Strahan really treated his wife terribly.
$15 MIL PENALTY TOPPLES GIANT
STRAHAN'S EX WINS ALMOST ALL
By JEANE MacINTOSH and TODD VENEZIA
January 13, 2007 -- A judge sacked Michael Strahan's bank account yesterday, ordering the New York Giants defensive end to pay his ex-wife Jean a whopping $15.3 million plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in child support as part of their divorce.
Judge James Convery blasted Strahan in a written ruling, saying the arguments he used to get out of coughing up the dough lacked "any credible evidence."
The ruling means the gap-toothed grid standout will have to give his ex-wife more than half his net worth - as Convery held him to a prenuptial agreement stipulating he give Jean 50 percent of their joint marital assets and 20 percent of his yearly income from each year they were married.
Strahan tried to argue that he wasn't responsible for the 20 percent because his wife failed to ask for it every year. But the judge said that "the plaintiff is not credible in his claim that the defendant never asked for her separate funds."
Jean, who married the football player in 1999, celebrated the ruling yesterday.
"It pays to tell the truth, and I told the truth," she said. "I never asked for a penny more than the prenup that Michael and his lawyers wrote and made me sign. And all I ever asked for was that to be upheld.
"I'm thrilled that it was."
The decision came after a divorce battle that left the popular player's stellar reputation battered by allegations of adultery, forgery, lying and perversion.
It is also a huge financial tackle. Strahan must pay the $15.3 million and the extra child support even though his net worth is only about $22 million, according to court records.
With his career in its twilight years, this could be a blow from which his bank account never recovers.
But Jean said yesterday that it was his own fault. Strahan himself devised the uneven distribution spelled out in a prenup.
"He and his lawyer wrote it and made me sign it the night before we got married," Jean said. "We were, at the time, very much in love."
Jean Strahan had originally sought roughly $14 million, but the judge gave her back interest on the 20 percent annuity, raising the payout by $1.25 million.
The Giant will also have to pay $18,000 per month in child support, and will have to hand over a $311,150 lump sum for support dating back to August 2005. Jean will also get one of his four houses, but will have to pay him back for half of the mansion in Montclair, N.J.
Strahan lawyer Vicky Zigler declined to comment after receiving the decision in Essex County Family Court yesterday.
The couple was officially divorced last July after an acrimonious court battle that included allegations that Strahan:
* Ditched his wife and twin 2-year-old daughters, Isabella and Sophia, to hang out with alleged mistress Nicole "Cupcake" D'Oliveira on a trip to Phoenix.
* Jetted off to Caribbean islands with various other women, including the woman who sold the family their antique chairs.
* Secretly videotaped Jean's sister, Denise, while she undressed in a guest bedroom. Cops were called, and Jean left him for a while, but he then allegedly came back after he deposited $30,000 in her bank account.
* Forged her name on financial documents that were entered into the case.
* Hounded her and tried to use lawyers to intimidate her into changing their prenup.
In yesterday's ruling, Judge Convery also blasted Strahan for not remembering his wedding anniversary or wife's birthday.
Jean Strahan got the news of the decision at her lawyer's office. She exclaimed: "I'm going to Disney World!"
